The NHL is in the final planning stages of its series of outdoor stadium games next season with six contests set to take place in stadiums across North America, sources confirmed to ESPN.com Tuesday.

The series will start with the annual Winter Classic, recently confirmed for Ann Arbor on Jan. 1, 2014, and will continue with games in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Vancouver.

The league hopes to announce the additional games in the next two weeks.